Venue – Online in web meeting format

Price – ONLY £60 + VAT

How your business can use the world’s No1 Professional Social Media Website to create an abundance of leads for your business at no cost…

Most people are on LinkedIn, but for many, the fact is they don’t win much business from it because they don’t really know how to use LinkedIn to grow their business.

If this is you, or if you just want to improve the knowledge you have already got, then this practical LinkedIn Webinar is for you. The Webinar will teach you what you need to know in order to win new business from LinkedIn.

One of the central rules of networking seems simple but bears repeating: don’t reach out only when you need something. It’s imperative that you cultivate relationships and engage with people, so when the time does come that you’re looking for that recommendation or connection, it won’t be an awkward stretch to make the ask.

Even better, you can help others. If you meet people at conferences or other events, following the exchange of business cards and the invitations to join LinkedIn networks, how can you make the most of the platform to really make an impact where it counts? Read on for 10 strategies to become a networking master.

1. Personalise it.

When you’re asking to connect with someone on LinkedIn, it’s easy to use the template the platform provides. But if you’re reaching out cold, that’s the last thing you want to do, because it won’t set you apart, or give the person a reason to connect with you. Introduce yourself, say something about why their work or business resonates with you, a bit about what you bring to the table and then thank them for their time. Don’t forget to sign your name.

2. Get offline.

Once you do have that connection, it does nothing for you as just another name on your list. Make plans to speak via Skype or meet in person. These relationships only have as much value as you put into them.

3. Make it a reflection of you.

This might seem straightforward, but as you craft your profile, make sure you have a current, clear photo of yourself, a description that is a creative encapsulation of the kind of work you do and related links to the projects that you are most proud of. Make sure that your voice is present in how you talk about your work. If you’re stuck, look at people in your industry who you admire and take inspiration from how they lay out their accomplishments.

4. Update it regularly.

You don’t want to only be using LinkedIn when you are looking for something. Constantly stay engaged, revising your resume as you get new experience and commenting regularly on what people on your network share on their accounts. Consider giving your profile the SEO treatment. You don’t want to shoehorn in terms where they don’t fit, but incorporate the industry terms you need in an organic fashion.

5. Stay involved.

Don’t forget to join LinkedIn groups for organizations you’re involved with as well as general interest groups. You’ll never know what sort of information might come up that you might be able to use or the relationships you might be able to build. Be an active participant by regularly posting relevant links, job listings and industry news.

6. Be a completist.

If you want to put your best foot forward, don’t forget to fill out every section of your profile, from certifications, professional groups you belong to, awards that you have won and industry-specific skills — for example, a coding language — that you have learned. When someone comes to your profile, you want to give them the most robust sense of your experience.

7. Make sure people can get in touch.

If you’re a freelancer, for example, and you’re comfortable with having your contact information readily available, make sure that your phone number, email and relevant social media accounts are easily accessible. By growing your network, there is no reason why you wouldn’t be able to get more clients from your presence on the platform.

8. Put out the bat signal.

Is your company hiring? Then say so right up front. Put a “we’re hiring” next to your name at the top of your profile and next to the name of your business on your company page. If someone is searching for a job in your industry, you want them to know you are in the market for some new employees.

9. But don’t forget to use discretion.

Whether you’re putting feelers out as a prospective employer or job seeker and you’re not 100 percent ready for the world to know that, feel free to use the platform’s full complement of privacy settings to travel incognito while you’re doing your due diligence.

10. Support your colleagues.

Of course, you shouldn’t forget to list your own skills, but a simple and effective way to stay active on the platform is to endorse and recommend the skills of your past and present colleagues. Don’t do this rotely or performatively. Sincerity and specificity about what makes them great at their jobs reflects well on them and speaks to your ability to be a team player.

Being held on Monday 12th March 2018 – 9.00am to 5.00pm

Price – ONLY £129.00 + VAT

How your business can use the world’s No1 Professional Social Media Website to create an abundance of leads for your practice at no cost…

Most business owners are on LinkedIn, but for many, the fact is they don’t win much business from it because they don’t really know how to use LinkedIn to grow their business.

If this is you, or if you just want to improve the knowledge you have already got, then this practical LinkedIn Webinar is for you. The Webinar will teach you what you need to know in order to win new business from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn 301: Intermediate Tips For Boosting Your Career Through LinkedIn

In two previous posts, I shared with you ways to craft a compelling LinkedIn profile (LinkedIn 101) and techniques for growing and nurturing your network (LinkedIn 201). Review those posts before embarking on this LinkedIn career advancement plan. You need your profile to be powerful and your network strategy in place before you create and implement your LinkedIn career-boosting strategy. Once you’re ready, this final post in the series shows you four ways you can use LinkedIn to expand your brand, do your job better, and ultimately increase your career success.

1. Express your thought leadership

LinkedIn provides several features you can use to expand your thought-leadership and build visibility and credibility with people who count. There are three ways that are most powerful for building visibility with your connections and the members of the groups to which you belong.

• Share (an article, photo, video, or idea)

When you share an update, you’re making your connections and fellow group members aware of what’s going on in your world, providing information that could be valuable to them. Sharing an update is the best way to let them know what’s going on in your world. Just sharing a few sentences – like: “I learned at yesterday’s AMA meeting that marketers are going to spend 20% more on video in 2018” is a simple yet powerful way to deliver value to decision makers while staying on their radar.

• Write (an article)

LinkedIn’s blogging platform is a great way to share your ideas and expertise. It’s a very easy platform to use (you can paste content from a Word doc) – and your posts need only be between 600 and 1,000 words. If you use this regularly, it becomes a repository of your ideas on your preferred topic. Just remember, don’t blow hot air. What you share needs to be both helpful for and a clear reinforcement of your brand message (how you want to be known), while ultimately delivering valuable information to your target audience.

Curate (and then share)

If you’re feeling like you don’t have the time or desire to create your own content, curation can be your best friend. When you share another person’s post, disseminating information that you find interesting and valuable with your connections/groups, you’re enabling them to see potentially helpful content that they otherwise might have missed. Most websites that distribute content, like Forbes, Fast Company, etc. make it easy for you to share their content via LinkedIn. But a word of caution: If you just click “share” and send it to your connections and/or groups, it does little to build your brand. You need to add your commentary and point of view – why you think it is valuable. For example, you might say “This is a really useful article, especially the last paragraph.” Or “This piece is a powerful overview; the only thing I would add is XXX.” Or “This is a well-written piece, but I disagree with the author about his second point because…”

2. Expand your visibility

My personal branding technique for expanding visibility with minimal effort is called – wait for it – being lazy. By that, I mean reusing and repurposing the content you already have available. This amplifies your message and delivers brand consistency, communicating different forms of the same content in distinctive ways to the members of your brand community. So repurpose your Blog posts for your activity updates and embed whitepapers and articles in the summary and experience sections of your profile. Never look at any piece of content you create in isolation. Always ask yourself “How can I reuse this content to add value to my LinkedIn connections?”

3. Grow professionally

LinkedIn has an almost endless number of resources for those who seek to keep the saw sharp and want to remain on the leading edge. Just being a member of the right groups can help you stay on top of what’s happening in your field and connect you with movers and shakers in your industry. And LinkedIn has added features that are specifically designed to help you up amplify your know-how and develop new skills.
One of the most powerful buttons is “Following.” LinkedIn allows you to follow companies, influencers, and publications. This is your one-stop shop to stay on top of what’s happening – and it gives you endless amounts of fodder you can share to spice up the monotonous meetings you attend each day.

4. Learn about others

LinkedIn provides valuable content when you are looking to research competitors, know more about prospective clients, and identify and source the ideal candidates for open roles. Use it before meetings to get the 4-1-1 on the people you’re about to meet. Find common connections and interests and start building stronger relationships. And for those times where you want your sleuthing to be on the down-low (especially if you’re looking to poach talent or check out a competitor) be sure to change your setting in the profile viewing option to “private mode.”

LinkedIn provides an ever-growing number of ways to help you do your job better so you can stand out and achieve your goals. Approach LinkedIn with this mindset, invest a little time in it every day, and watch your career soar.

Date – Thursday 7th December 2017 – 9am to 1 pm

How your business can use the world’s No1 Professional Social Media Website to create an abundance of leads for your business at no cost…

Most people are on LinkedIn, but for many, the fact is they don’t win much business from it because they don’t really know how to use LinkedIn to grow their business. If this is you, or if you just want to improve the knowledge you have already got, then this practical LinkedIn Workshop is for you. The Workshop will teach you what you need to know in order to win new business from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s founder explains how Mark Zuckerberg transformed from an awkward kid to one of tech’s best CEOs

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman was an early investor in Facebook, and has seen founder Mark Zuckerberg grow from a kid looking for an investment and to a powerful peer in Silicon Valley. Hoffman joined Business Insider’s podcast, “Success! How I Did It,” and shared how Zuckerberg has evolved.

Reid Hoffman: One of the great delights in working with Mark through kind of the early days to now is that Mark has demonstrated literally the most spectacular learning and adaptation curve that I’ve ever seen in a young entrepreneur to now, an experienced and highly capable CEO. I am learning from a bunch of things that he does. And it started with being kind of quiet, because I think he was trying to figure things out, not particularly graceful in a meeting, to being a very smart executive who understands principles of management, and then continues to make bold bets that initially other people think are kind of crazy, like buying WhatsApp, or Oculus. Oculus, we’ll see we’re it plays out, but WhatsApp is clearly a massive bet that turns out to be super smart. A number of people – myself included – thought that the purchase of Instagram was sharp. But again, it was like “what, you spent a billion dollars for a company that has 13 people in it and no revenue?” That kind of thing is simply amazing. And I think the truth of the matter is, a combination of Zuckerberg has an amazing learning curve, and also has a true north, where he’s trying to say “how do I make the world more connected, in a way that enables people to understand each other better, to communicate better, to share experiences better?” Because if we do that, overall the world will be a better place.

The 10 Fastest-Growing Topics on LinkedIn

From branchless banks to food-service companies

LinkedIn is slowly creeping up as a hot social platform known for more than just career-building.

It’s increasingly a place where marketers can connect with executives and publishers can reach new audiences. For example, in September, Bloomberg claimed it had doubled its LinkedIn followers this year alone to 1.5 million.

Next week, LinkedIn will publish its Content Insights Quarterly, a report that dissects the data it’s collected on its 106 million users between July and September to see what people have been talking about.

Per LinkedIn’s stats, the No.1 fastest-growing topic on the site was “change readiness,” which describes how ready companies are for all sorts of disruption within their industries and organizations.

“Technological change is a reality, and it seems to be occurring ever faster,” explained Jennifer Brett, Americas insights lead at LinkedIn.
Other hot topics vary widely, including geomodeling (3-D digital maps of Earth’s geography) and content about direct (or “branchless”) banks.

Here are the top 10 fastest-growing topics on LinkedIn. (The rest of its insights will be released next week in its full report.)

Twitter to expand 280-character tweets

Twitter plans to increase the number of characters in tweets from 140 to 280 for the majority of users.

The new limit will not apply to tweets written in Japanese, Chinese and Korean which can convey more information in a single character.

The move follows a trial among a small group of users which started in September in response to criticism that it was not easy enough to tweet.

The change is part of Twitter’s plan to attract new users and increase growth.

Twitter brevity

During the test, only 5% of tweets sent were longer than 140 characters and only 2% more than 190, the social media site said in a blog post.

But those who did use the longer tweets, got more followers, more engagement and spent more time on the site, it added.

“During the first few days of the test, many people tweeted the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, but soon after behaviour normalised,” wrote Aliza Rosen, Twitter’s product manager.

“We saw when people needed to use more than 140 characters, they tweeted more easily and more often. But importantly, people tweeted below 140 most of the time and the brevity of Twitter remained.”

According to Twitter, 9% of tweets in English hit the character limits.

“This reflects the challenge of fitting a thought into a tweet, often resulting in lots of time spent editing and even at times abandoning tweets before sending,” Ms Rosen said.

Increasing the character limit should not affect people’s experience on the site, she added.

“We – and many of you – were concerned that timelines may fill up with 280-character tweets, and people with the new limit would always use up the whole space. But that didn’t happen.”

When the change was announced, many criticised it, pointing out changes they would rather see, such as a crackdown on hate crime and bots, and the introduction of a chronological timeline and edit function.

The site currently has 330 million active users. This compares with 800 million for Instagram and more than 2 billion users for Facebook.

Are you tired of doing all the work by yourself ? Are you exhausted with working 90 hours a week just to try uselessly to grow your small business and take it to the next level ?You’re not alone ! Every business owner does face this issue at least once in his business career. So, you might be thinking of either hiring some employees to help you with your business or outsource your marketing. But, why does outsourcing seem a better option ? Here are 3 main reasons for you to outsource your marketing immediately !

Saves you time to work on other important tasks in your business or to just relax !

Being a business owner nowadays means you have to keep up to date with all the business news, all the strategies that might take your business to the next level, all the tools and ways to market your products, and so on. These do take too much time of your life, and outsourcing your marketing could save you some of that time to do other revenue producing tasks, or to just relax and have some fun. This could indeed set you free to do some sports or go watch a football match with your best friend ! Such activities are needed in one’s life for him to entertain himself and forget about all the work’s stress !

Hire experts instead of just entry level administrators !

The reason some of us, business owners, hire some entry level employees as part time or full time workers is because of our low budget. But, even if this is convenient for our minimal financial budgets, It won’t give you the help you could get from a marketing expert ; these entry level marketing employees are just order takers, not next move makers, not thinkers and decision takers. They won’t therefore make you benefit from any marketing and strategical expertise that a marketing expert could be giving you. In fact, outsourced marketing professionals are not full times workers for any company or individual. This means that they work for a big number of customers all at once. You may be wondering now what does that have to do with expertise, or you might be pondering that as a cause of them not giving your work the importance it requires to get because of the huge number of their customers. Unfortunately, none of this is true, Fortunately, I mean ! This working style gives them access to an infinite number of ideas and inspirational thoughts they get from their contact with plenty of customers. So, some of their best ideas for some clients are ones they get from other ones, coming from completely different industries ! This variety is indeed a source of creativity and inspiration. And not to forget the fact that these marketing experts are, by the end, entrepreneurs, just like us ! This actually means that they know what it takes to do the work, and how hard is t to run the business. That’s why they’ll give you the best they can to ensure you won’t struggle down the way !

Costs you less than an FTE ( Full Time Entry )

Hiring a professional marketing expert costs you as little as 50% what can cost you a full time entry or mid level marketing coordinator. In other words, on one hand, paying half the price to hire a professional marketing consultant will give you acces to all his marketing expertise and all his strategies and helpful ideas ; things you won’t get with an entry level employee. On the other hand, thses FTEs would only cost you more and more expenses ; labor laws, health care, payroll, taxes, and much more than this. You will be needing therefore a human resources professional just to manage all your employees ! These would not even exist if you just hire a marketing expert instead !

To sum up, outsourcing your marketing will mean having a professional, experienced help and a source of inspiration to grow your business and take it to the next level, for costs far less than what could require a normal entry level employee. So, why don’t you give it a try ? I bet your rival business owners already use this method. So, why don’t you ?

5 Reasons why you should invest in marketing training

As a business owner, you surely know that business is all about two main things : The product or service you market, and how you market it. So, apart from having a good quality product that will satisfy your customers, there is a small issue. How do you get those customers ? Through marketing your business, of course ! But, how easy is it to do so ? IT DEFINITELY ISN’T. There are a bunch of ways you could sell and advertise your brand. But, how do you get to know the most effective of them ? How do you get to know how to use them ? And a plenty of other questions that might be flowing in your head by now.. « What shall I do so ? » every business owner has wondered, and here do I have the answer. I’ve been in your place before and I ‘ve tried this, and it did efficiently give its great results. What is it so ? Marketing training, for sure ! You might have heard of it already, but said what if it doesn’t help and all the money I’ve got to pay will just fade away ? I assure you now, dear business owners, that this is completely worth your money and time. So, check these 5 main reasons why you should consider investing in marketing training !

Gain the marketing skills you need to start doing it on your own !

That is what marketing training is mainly for : to teach you how to do it yourself ! Throughout your training, you will go beyond the basics everyone out there knows, to reach the information you need to take your business to the next level. And whether you are a small or big business owner, this training offers pretty much something for everyone ; it will always give you some new piece of information, no matter what marketing niche you’re in, your coach knows well that every specific niche requires a specific care and a specific effort along the way.

Keep up to date !

Staying in touch with the latest marketing strategies, tips and tools can be hard sometimes. That’s why your training coach knows everything ; he will do the job for you, not the marketing job obviously, but the process of looking into what’s trending, what’s effective, and what’s most suitable for your business. This will save you tons of hours of reading and reseach that will probably lead to nothing. Through marketing training, the methods you need will come to you, simple and clarified, ready to apply right away !

Learn to communicate!

Some of you might be laughing now, saying that they already know how to communicate. Yet, this is not normal communication, the one you use with everybody all day long. In business marketing, there are some specific ways to talk, to text and to interact with your customers. You will know what phrases to use, when to use them, and all the tiny details you might be missing that might be leading you to a stronger relation between you and your customers. Knowing how to deal with your clients is the hardest part, cause that’s when it comes to knowing how to talk about your product, in a specific way with every specific person, that’s how you show them you care about them and about fulfilling their needs through your product.

Reach out to a wordlwide economy !

Now that you’ve gained some marketing skills, got yourself some effective strategies and known how to effectively communicate with your customers, that’s all you ever need to start marketing ! You now have to use those three to go out to the world and market your product or service. Unlike most small business owners who are still attached to their basics, you now have the tools that bigger companies use ; you’ve know got the secret recipe that will help you compete with them on a large territory !

A cost-effective investment !

There are a bunch of marketing training courses out there, with prices varying from cheap to expensive. You just have to choose to most convenient one for your budget, but no matter what you will pay, in the end, you’re going to be learning lots of things. The marketing tools and strategies you’ll end up gaining will set then place to your business growth and thousands if not millions of dollars in revenues just because you’ve used the right methods to show off your brand.

To sum up, marketing training is not just a classical training ; it is a lifetime business marketing opportunity that will provide you with the right ingredients and the right recipe to effectively sell your services to a global economy. So, what are you waiting for ? Seize the chance and take your business to the next level !

Newsletter Sign up!

Latest blog post

LinkedIn Webinar – 6 weeks starting Wednesday 6th June 2018 Product Description How to win Business on LinkedIn Learn how to GET TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE – GROW YOUR NETWORK – BUILD RELATIONSHIPS – CREATE SALES – MARKET YOUR BUSINESS So many people find it hard to take a day off work to attend a LinkedIn

One of the central rules of networking seems simple but bears repeating: don’t reach out only when you need something. It’s imperative that you cultivate relationships and engage with people, so when the time does come that you’re looking for that recommendation or connection, it won’t be an awkward stretch to make the ask. Even

Popular blog post

In this video you will hear some incredible facts about how the world has changed and how it is changing now and in the future. Did you know that by 2016 China will be the world’s No1 English speaking nation. Like the title says ‘SHIFT HAPPENS’ [stream provider=image flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DcL9Wu2kWwSY%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/cL9Wu2kWwSY/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=540 height=260 dock=true

If you are a company in the South East with between 2 and 250 employees, you can apply for funding from the Leadership and Management Advisory Service to develop your organisation’s people management skills and support your most important asset. This funding is available to eligible companies in the South East who: Have 2 to 250

Workshop Programme

Sign up for the newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter and download our FREE PDF about how to link your social media strategies together.

[gravityform id=1 title=false description=false ajax=true]

Contact Details

The Prudent Marketer

The Barn, Sherborn St John
Basingstoke, Hants, RG24 9LJ

Telephone: +44 (0)1256 242272
The LinkedIn Training Academy is a privately ran organisation and not part of LinkedIn PLC. Its aim is to help members of LinkedIn to use the site, to grow their business.